Method and means for controlling the operating of a weaving machine



Oct. 18, 1960 E. PFARRWALLER 2,956,588

METHOD AND MEANS FOR CONTROLLING THE OPERATING OF A WEAVING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 22, 1956 a M m M w w w W 3% R 3 1 R m 3 "L P. 1 N M mw M v M&\ 8 2 w\ 2\ "0 W M\ Mil w m W a m a m M 9 7 3 E. PFARRWALL'ER 2,956,588

Oct. 18, 1960 METHOD AND MEANS FOR CONTROLLING THE OPERATING OF A WEAVING MACHINE Filed June 22, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 D g! 3 l I INVENTOR. ERW/N PFAR/PwALLE/P.

ATTOR/VEK Oct. 18, 1960 PFARRWALLER 4 2,956,588 METHOD AND MEANS FOR CONTROLLING THE OPERATING OF A WEAVING MACHINE Filed June 22, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 D ,(T f 732 i INVENTOR.

E/PW/N PFAP/PWALLEE.

ATTORNEY Oct. 18, 1960 E. PFARRWALLER 2,956,588

METHOD AND MEANS FOR CONTROLLING THE OPERATING OF A WEAVING MACHINE Filed June 22, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR. E/e'wnv PFA RRWALLER.

BY It I ATTORNEY.

United States NIETHOD AND NIEANS FOR CONTROLLING THE OPERATING OF A WEAVING MACHINE Erwin Pfarrwaller, Winterthur, Switzerland,

Sulzer Frres, S.A., Winterthur, ration of Switzerland assignor to Switzerland, a corpo- The present invention relates to a method and means for controlling the operation of a weaving machine, more particularly for controlling the operation ofa weaving machine which is stopped upon a faulty weaving operation, and in which selected mechanisms can be disconnected from the main drive of the machine during an emergency stop and can be actuated separately for reversing the operation of the disconnected mechanisms for correcting the weaving irregularity while the other mechanisms of the machine are standing still.

It is an object of the present invention to provide improved means for disconnecting parts of a weaving machine from the main drive shaft of the machine while the drive shaft is stopped and for simultaneously connecting the disconnected parts to a hand drive for operating the disconnected parts in reverse direction for correcting a weaving irregularity. The mechanism according to the invention preferably also includes means connected with a conventional loom stop motion for actuating the latter simultaneously with the means for disconnecting parts of the weaving machine from the main drive shaft and connecting the disconnected parts with a hand drive.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a method for operating a weaving machine when correcting a weaving irregularity, the method including the step of once again stopping the weaving machine after it has been restarted after having been stopped due to a weaving irregularity and after the main shaft of the machine has been turned through a predetermined angle after restarting. This step is initiated simultaneously with the disconnecting operation of certain mechanisms of the weaving machine from other mechanisms and from the main drive of the machine, for reverse operation of the disconnected mechanisms for correcting the weaving irregularity. The automatic second stop aifords checking of the machine after correction of the cause of the weaving irregularity and before the machine is started again for normal high speed operation.

The apparatus for performing the above described method includes manually operable means for disconnecting predetermined parts of the mechanisms of the weaving machine from the main drive shaft of the machine, a control member whose position is controlled by the manually operable means and which is adapted to initiate automatic stopping of the main drive shaft, and actuating means moving synchronously with the main shaft of the weaving machine and adapted to engage the control member for actuating same to initiate stoppage of the main drive shaft at a predetermined angular position of the latter. The control member automatically returns to rest or inactive position, in which it cannot be engaged by the actuating means, when the manually operable means is in the position in which no mechanisms of the weaving machine are disconnected from the main shaft of the machine, i.e. when the latter is in normal operating condition. The control member is automatically moved into active position, in which it can be atent engaged by the actuating means, when the manually operable means is moved into the position for disconnecting predetermined mechanisms of the weaving machine from the main shaft.

The novel features which are considered characteristic of the invention are set forthwith particularity in the appended claims. The invention itself however and additional objects and advantages thereof will best be understood from the following description of embodiments thereof when read in connection with the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. l is a front view of'a weaving machine;

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a mechanism according to the invention;

Fig. 3 is an elevationof a part of the mechanism shown in'Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a plan view ofthe mechanism shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a diagram showing a plurality of different relative operating positions of parts of the mechanism according to Figs. 3 and 4;

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic perspective illustration of a modified apparatus according to the invention;

Fig. 7 is a side view of a portion of the mechanism shown in Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a top view of the mechanism shown in Fig. 7;:

Fig. 9 is a diagram showing parts of the mechanism according to Figs. 7 and 8 in diiferent operating positions;

Fig. 10 illustrates a further modification of a mechanism according to the invention.

Like parts are designated by like numerals in different figures of the drawing.

Referring more particularly to Fig. l of the drawing, a motor 11 mounted on a right side shield 12 drives a pulley 14 by means of V belts 13. The pulley 14 drives a clutch housed in the pulley and not shown, the clutch, when engaged, driving the main shaft 15 of the weaving machine. The shaft 15 permanently or intermittently drives the individual mechanisms of the weaving machine during the normal weaving operation. The shaft 15 actuates, inter alia, the warp beam 16 and the warp 17 which moves through heddles supported by a plurality of frames 18, the latter being actuated by the shaft 15 for opening, closing, and changing the shed. The shaft 15 also actuates a control beam 19 and a cloth beam 20 for winding the cloth 21. The shaft 15 further actuates, through intermediate drives, a shuttle picking mechanism 22 and a shuttle receiving mechanism 23 at predetermined moments; the shaft 15 also actuates a lay 28 including a reed 29.

A weft thread 24 is transferred to a shuttle 25 in the picking mechanism 22. The weft thread 24 is pulled from a spool 27 supported by a carrier 26 outside of the shuttle 25 and is drawn by the shuttle 25 through the shed toward the receiving mechanism 23. 'I hereupon the weft thread is beaten up by the lay 28, other conventional operations following.

After disengagement of the weft thread 24 from the shuttle 25, the latter is transferred within the shuttle receiving station 23 to a shuttle return device 30 which is driven by the main shaft 15 and returns the idle shuttles 25 below the shed from the shuttle receiving mechanism 23 to the shuttle picking mechanism 22.

Drive and control devices 32 for the control beam 19 are arranged on a left side shield 12a which is connected with the right side shield 12 by a box girder 31 to form a rigid frame for the weaving machine.

Levers 33 connected with a control rod 34 afford actuation of the clutch in the pulley 14 and of a brake in a housing 37 by means of a linkage 36 for starting and stopping the loom from different localities around the weaving machine. The brake in the housing 37 acts on the main shaft 15 and is applied after disengagement of the clutch in the pulley 14 for instantly stopping rotation of the main shaft 15 at irregularities in the operation of the weaving machine.

The brake in the housing 37 can be released without engaging the clutch 14 by manipulation of the control levers 33. Mechanisms for doing this are known and are not illustrated. After releasing the brake the main shaft 15, which is disconnected from the motor 11, can be turned by manipulation of a hand wheel 38 to assume certain angular positions; for example, for positioning parts of the weaving machine relatively to the zero position of the main shaft, the latter can be brought into the respective angular positions.

In Fig. 2 only the portion of the warp 17 is shown which extends through the heddle frames 18 and through the reed 29 to continue in the finished fabric 21.

The heddle frames 18 of which there are usually more than two are actuated by a cam mechanism including cams 42, cam follower levers 43 and connecting rods 41 so that the shed is changed within predetermined angular positions of the main shaft 1'5. The cams 42 are fixed to a cam shaft 44 which is driven by the main shaft 15 through a chain drive 45, a shaft 45, a worm gear 46, a shaft 78 and a one-claw clutch 47 A tooth gear 48 is driven by the shaft 45' and operates the control beam 19 for withdrawing the fabric 21 and the warp beam 16 by conventional means, not shown.

The lay 28 oscillates with a shaft 49 to which a cam follower lever 50 is connected which cooperates with cams 51 on the main loom shaft 15 for moving the lay 28 from the rest position into the beat-up position and back to the rest position.

A tooth gear 52 is interposed between the shaft 15 carrying the cams 51 and a shaft 53 carrying a cam 54 forming part of the control mechanism according to the invention. The gear ratio of the tooth gear 52 is 1:1 and the driving wheel of the gearing 52 is interposed on the shaft 15 between the earns 51 and the clutch 47. A lever 56 is rigidly connected with a shaft 55 which is connected by means, not shown, with a conventional device for stopping the weaving machine, the shaft 55 revolvably and axially slidably supporting a two-arm control lever 57 to the left end of which a cam follower roller 58 is mounted. The left arm of the lever 57 is connected by means of a spring 59 with a portion 61 of the loom frame, tending to turn the lever 57 clockwise and to press the roller '58 against an abutment roll 62. A compression spring 63 wound around the shaft 55 presses the lever or control member 57 so that its right arm 64 abuts against a flat surface 65 formed on a control cam 66. When the lever 64 rests on the fiat surface 65 the cam follower roller 58 is axially removed from the cam 54 and is in the same plane as the roll 62.

The control cam 66 is provided with a V-shaped recess 67 for receiving a V-shaped end 68 of the lever 56. The control cam 66 is actuated by manipulation of a control lever or crank 69 which is also connected by means of an arm 71 and a connecting member 72 with the upper arm 73 of a clutch actuating fork 74, the latter being rotatable on a pin 75 vertically extending from the frame portion 61.

The operation of the device is as follows: Upon rotation of the shaft 55 in the direction of the arrow 76 the clutch and the brake in the housing 37, Fig. 1, are actuated by conventional means, for example, as shown in Patent No. 2,639,732 so that the main shaft 15 is disconnected from the motor 11 and is simultaneously braked to come to a standstill within predetermined angular rotational positions of the main shaft .15. The angle within which the main shaft is stopped depends primarily on the number of picks made by the weaving machine per minute. The loom stopping shaft 55 may be automatically actuated by any conventional safety device used in connection with the loom, by means of the hand lever 33 in Fig. 1, or by rocking the lever 69 4 in Fig. 2 in the direction of the arrow 77 whereby the V shaped end portion of the lever 56 is pushed out of the recess 67 and the shaft 55 is ttuned counterclockwise through an angle which is sufficient to actuate the loom stop motion, not shown.

The attendant of the weaving machine, for example, will stop the machine, if the fabric 21 shows a faulty weft insertion. In order to correct the irregularity it may be necessary that several weft threads are removed requiring reversed rotation of the beam 19 to unwind fabric 21. The heddle frames 18 must also be operated in reverse so that the beaten-up weft threads are released and can be pulled out until the faulty weft thread is reached. The clutch 47 affords the auxiliary motion necessary for the aforesaid reverse operation by disconnecting a part of the mechanisms needed for normal weaving from the main shaft 15 and/ or from other mechanisms.

When the clutch 47 is disengaged by manipulation of the lever 69, i.e. when the cam shaft 44 is disconnected from the main loom shaft 15, the auxiliary shaft 78 can be rotated in clockwise direction by means of a crank 79 for operating the shedding mechanism, the warp beam 16 and the fabric control beam 19 while the picking and shuttle receiving mechanisms are at a standstill. For this purpose the crank 79 is moved toward a pin 81' extending from the shaft 78 until a recess 82. in the hub of the crank receives the pin 81'.

Figs. 3 and 4 show the rest or inactive position A of the lever 57 with the follower roller 58 in solid lines and the operating or active position B in dash-dot lines. When the device is in the position A the roller 58 is in the same plane as the abutment roller 62 which plane is spaced from and parallel to the plane of the cam 54 as seen in Fig. 4. When the device is in the operating position B the lever 57 with the roller 58 is moved toward the viewer of Fig. 2. This is eifected by counterclockwise rotation of the lever 69 and of the cam 66 whose edge 83 pushes the arm 64 outward against the action of the spring 63.

Whereas the roller 58 is pressed by the spring 59 against the circumference of the roll 62 when the device is in the rest position A, the roller 58 engages the circumference of the cam 54 when the device is in the operating position B. When changing from the position A to the position B the two-arm lever 57 makes a slight clockwise movement and the roller 58 overlaps the roll 62 as shown by shade lines 85 in Fig. 5 so that the lever 57 cannot be moved inward by the spring 63.

After removal of the faulty weft thread which may have been broken, the weaving machine can be restarted. For this purpose the lever 69 is moved from the position D to the position C in Fig. 4. The end of the lever 56 drops into the recess 67 whereby the shaft 55 moves clockwise, disconnecting the stop motion. The one-claw clutch 47 is engaged at the same time because before manipulation of the lever 69 the clutch half 89 which is axially movable but not rotatable on the shaft 7 8 has been turned by manipulation of the crank 79 into the position in which the claw 90 can be pushed into the corresponding gap 91 in the clutch half which is mounted on the shaft 15. If now the weaving machine is restarted by manipulation of one of the handles or levers 33 in Fig. 1 the brake is released and the main loom clutch is engaged. The shaft 15 is rotated by the motor 11 and the shaft 53 with the cam 54 is rotated in the direction of the arrow 86 through the angle 0:. Since the two-arm lever 57 with the roll 58 is still in the operating position B the protuberance 87 (Fig. 3) of the cam 54 will press the roller 58 so far downward that the arm 64 lifts a pin 81 which laterally projects from the lever 56, turning the shaft 55 again in the direction of the arrow 76 and stopping the weaving machine once more before the main shaft 15 has completed a revolution.

The protuberance 87 is in the position E (Fig. 5) in ga es which the lever 57 is swung counterclockwise until the loom stop motion is initiated and the main clutch is disengaged and the main loom shaft is braked, at an angular position of the main shaft 15 so that after moving through an angle 13 the loom is completely stopped and the lay 28 is in the position F, shown in dash-dot lines in Fig. 2, in which the inserted weft thread is beaten up.

The second stop of the weaving machine in the beatup position of the lay 28 after insertion of a weft thread replacing the missing or faulty weft thread is desired to enable the attendant to check whether a new weft thread has been inserted which corresponds to the broken weft thread, for example, with respect to color and position in the weave. In this way the loom operator is induced to control whether everything is in good order before weaving is continued and much time and material is saved which is lost if weaving is continued after a wrong thread has been inserted.

When the lever 57 is in the rest position A, Fig. 5, the roller 58 rests against the roll 62. When the lever 57 is in the operating position B the roller 58 engages the circular portion of the cam 54. When the device moves through the stopping angle {3 the roller 58 is pressed by the protuberance 8'7 into its lowest position B Fig. 5. While the roller 58 runs down on the protuberance 87 and the tension of the spring 59 is released until rotation of the cam 54 through the angle 6 is completed, the lever 57 and the roller 58 are returned by the spring 63 into the rest position A, because the fiat surface 65 is parallel to the arm 64 when the lever 69 is in the position C.

In the modification of the device shown in Fig. 6 the main shaft 15 of the Weaving machine is connected with a shaft 78' through a one-claw clutch 47, the shaft 78 driving a Geneva movement 93 through a toothed gearing 92. To the end of a shaft 97 one half 93 of a yielding clutch is connected. The second half 99 of the clutch is mounted on a shaft 102 and is axially movable on the shaft 102 against the action of a spring 101 but is not rotatable relatively to the shaft 102. The clutch part 98 has a wedge shaped claw 193 which fits into a corresponding recess in the clutch part 99. The shaft 102 supports a thread changing element 104 having axial grooves 105 for longitudinally movably supporting thread feeders 106 as shown, for example, in Patent No. 2,726,685.

An arm 108 is rigidly connected with the shaft 102, a spring 109 being connected with the arm 108 for urging the arm and the shaft 102 to rotate in clockwise direction and for pressing a roller at the end of an arm 96 fixed to the shaft 97 against the links of a pattern chain 94. A locking element 111 is fixed to the shaft 102 and provided with recesses 112 for receiving a roller 113 at the end of a locking lever 114. The latter is swingable on a pin 115 and is connected with a cam follower lever 117 by means of a link 116. The lever 117 is actuated by a cam 118 on the shaft 15.

The Geneva movement 93 intermittently moves the links of the chain 94 in the direction of the arrow 95, each movement corresponding to the length of a chain link. The chain links actuate the arm 96 so that the thread feeders 106 are moved into the picking path 107 for presenting the desired threads to the shuttles, not shown, in a predetermined sequence.

A worm gear 119, whose worm is mounted on the shaft 78, drives a shaft 121 which drives the control shaft 19 for the fabric 21 and the warp beam 16 in the conventional manner. The shaft 78' drives a conventional shedding mechanism, not shown.

A toothed gearing 123 having a gear ratio 1:1 is interposed between the cam 118 and the clutch 47 on the shaft 15 for driving a shaft 124 on which a cam 125 is mounted, the latter being adapted to be engaged by a roller 126 at the free end of a stop motion control lever 127. The latter has a right arm 128 whose end is provided with a V-shaped protuberance 129 adapted to be received in a corresponding notch 131 in a control cam 132. The lever 127 is axially movable on the shaft 55 but cannot rotate thereon due to the provision of a key 133, shown in Fig. 7. The shaft 55 actuates a loom motion, not shown, for example, as disclosed in Patent No. 2,639,732. The control cam 132 is connected by a shaft 132' with a crank 69 which is also adapted to engage and disengage the clutch 47 through an arm 71, a link 72, and a fork 74 swingable on a stationary pin 75. The cam 132 is in horizontal position and is provided with a horizontal actuating surface 139 at the general elevation of the arm 128.

The device operates as follows:

When a weft thread feeler stops the loom in the conventional manner, the operator manipulates the crank 69 and disengages the clutch 47 so that the loom mechanisms driven by the shaft 78', namely the fabric control, the warp control, the shedding mechanism, and the weft thread change mechanism, are disconnected from the main loom shaft 15. The crank 69 has been moved by the operator from the position C, Fig. 8, to the position H whereby the protuberance 129 has been pushed out of the recess 131 and the stop motion shaft 55 has been moved to the loom stopping position. The shaft 78 can now be turned by means of a crank 79 after the latter has been moved until a notch 82 on its hub engages a pin 81' on the shaft 78 and the fabric can be unwound from the fabric beam. At the same time the drive of the cams of the shedding mechanism for actuating the heddle frames 18 is reversed by means of the chain 122 and the pattern chain 94 is moved backward in a direction opposite to the arrow by so many links as is required to remove the faulty weft thread. It may happen that when the loom is at a standstill the locking roller 113 of the locking lever 114 is in one of the recesses 112 of the element 111 so that the thread changing element 104 is arrested in the position corresponding to that of the lastly inserted weft thread.

If the thread changing element 104 is arrested in this manner and if its position does not correspond to the position of the lever 96 effected by a link of the pattern chain 94 at the moment of restarting the loom, the yielding clutch 98, 99 comes into action. The clutch part 98 is rotated relatively to the clutch part 99 through an angle which corresponds to the difference of the angular positions of the thread changing member 104 and the lever 96. Due to the relative rotation of the clutch parts 98 and 99 the wedge-shaped claw 103 tends to leave the corresponding notch in the part 99. The latter is thereby axially moved against the action of the spring 101. The claw 103 never moves entirely out of the recess in part 99.

When, upon starting the loom, the roller 113 is moved out of the respective recess 112 due to the action of the earn 118, the relative positions of the shafts 97 and 102 and of the lever 96 and the thread changing element 104 will be so changed that the yielding clutch 98, 99 is suddenly engaged by the action of the spring 101 and the thread changing element 104 is suddenly moved into the position corresponding to that of the lever 96.

It is possible that by this sudden movement the element 104 moves beyond the position determined by the lever 96. If now the locking lever 114 and its roller 113 return to locking position, it is possible that the resulting movement of the element 104 causes insertion of the roller 113 in a recess 112 which does not correspond to the position of the lever 96 so that a wrong weft thread is inserted. This must be corrected.

The invention provides means for once again stopping the weaving machine. Prior to restarting the weaving machine the lever 69 is moved into position D, Fig. 8, whereby the left edge 135 of the cam surface 134on the cam 132 moves the lever 127 so far outward, i.e. toward the viewer of Fig. 6, that the arm 128 slides out of engagement with the horizontal portions of the cam 132 and can now be moved into operating position by the spring 59. The roller 126 is thereby moved into the plane of the cam 125, as indicated in dash-dot lines in Figs. 7 and 8. In this position (B in Fig. 9) the roller 126 engages the circumference of the earn 125 and the point of the protuberance 129 is somewhat lower than the bottom of the recess 131 so that the lever 127 remains in its active position (B B B in which the roller 126 engages the cam 125. A backward movement of the lever 127 on the shaft 55 is not possible.

If now within one revolution of the main shaft 15 and of the shaft 124 the running-on flank 136 of the cam 125 presses the roller 126 downward, the loom is stopped once again. How this is done will now be explained.

Figures 7 and 8 and particularly Figure 9 show the lever 127 with the roller 126 in several different operating positions. The roller 126 and the lever 127 are shown in solid lines in the rest or inactive posi tion in which the protuberance 129 is in the notch 131 of the control cam 132 so that the roller 126 is held spaced from the circular surface of the cam 125.

As seen in Figure 8, when the device is in inactive position, the arm 12% of the control lever 127 rests on a vertical abutment surface 138 which is at the right of and smaller than another vertical abutment surface 134 of the cam 132. When, upon rotation of the handle 69 into the position D, the lever 127 is moved into the active position B the roller 126 engages the circular portion of the cam 125. Upon rotation of the cam 125 in the direction of the arrow 86 by the loom motor and the main shaft 15 the lever 127 is swung counterclockwise into the position B thereby turning the stop motion shaft 55 counterclockwise and stopping the loom. In the position E the roller 126 is still on the running-on surface 136 of the earn 125. Due to forces of inertia the shafts 15 and 124 do not stop immediately but continue to run through the braking angle until the brake of the loom stopping mechanism, not shown, takes full effect. During this continued rotation of the cam 125 the roller 126 is farther depressed, into the position B As seen in Figure 9, the protuberance 129 is thereby so far lifted that it is above the elevation of the horizontal surface 139 of the control cam 132 and can be pushed back into the inactive position A (Figure 8). The runningoff surface 137 of the cam 125 is slanted transversely of the plane of the cam so that the roller 126 slides down on the surface 137, moving the lever 127 from the active position B into the inactive position A. The slanted running surface of the cam 125 forming part of the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figures 6 to 9 replaces the spring 63 of the embodiment shown in Figures 1 to 5.

Figure illustrates a modified arrangement for actuating the loom stop motion shaft 55 and for simultaneously disconnecting parts of the weaving machine from the main drive shaft '15 and connecting the disconnected parts to a crank 235 for manual operation of the disconnected parts. The main drive shaft of the weaving machine drives an intermediary shaft 212 through bevel gears 211. The left part 213 of a claw clutch is axially movably mounted on the shaft 212 and prevented from rotation on the shaft by a key 214. The part 213 is urged against the right part 216 of the claw clutch by a spring 215. Part 213 is provided with a claw 217 adapted to engage a claw 218 of the clutch part 216. The latter is rotatable on the shaft 212.

The clutch 213, 216 is of the type as disclosed in Patent Nos. 2,592,819 and 2,639,732, and is provided with a pawl 219 which drops between the claws 217 and 218 when the clutch is disengaged, preventing reengagement of the clutch until the part 213 has been. mated through 360 relatively to the part 216, in clockwise or in counterclockwise direction.

A sprocket wheel 221, which is rotatable on the shaft 212 is mounted on the clutch part 216 for supporting a chain 222 for driving a sprocket wheel 223 mounted on an additional shaft 224- and for driving a sprocket wheel 225 of a shedding mechanism 226.

The shaft 224 operates a warp control mechanism, not shown, through a sprocket wheel 227 and a chain 228. The shaft 224 also drives a shaft 231 of a mechanism, not shown, for controlling the fabric.

A spur gear 232 is mounted on the right end of the additional shaft 224, the gear 232 being in mesh with a gear 233 above which an auxiliary shaft 234 is located, which is axially movably supported by frame portions 253 and 254 of the weaving machine. A spur gear 239 is mounted on the shaft 234 and adapted to engage the gear wheel 233 when the shaft 234 is in the proper axial position. The right end of the shaft 234 is provided with a crank 235 for manual rotation of the shaft 234.

A control disc 236 is mounted on the shaft 234 which disc engages a lever 238 mounted on the stop motion actuating shaft 55, rocking the lever 238 counterclockwise for stopping the main drive shaft 15 upon axial displacement of the shaft 234 to the right.

The left end of the shaft 234 has an annular groove 244 receiving the ends of the prongs of a fork 243 at the end of a rod 242 whose left end is pivoted to the end of a lever 241 swinging on a stationary pivot 245. The lever 241 is provided with a fork 246 whose prongs extend into an annular groove 247 of the axially movable clutch part 213.

The clutch part 213 can be manually moved in axial direction by means of a hand lever 248 swinging on a stationary fulcrum 249 and having a portion 250 extending into the groove 247.

If the lever 248 is moved into the position shown in dash-dot lines in Figure 10, the clutch 213, 216 is disengaged. Simultaneously, the lever 241 is swung counterclockwise and the rod 242 and therewith the shaft 234 are pushed to the right. This causes counterclockwise swinging of the lever 238 and stopping of the main drive shaft 15 of the weaving machine. It also causes engagement of the gears 239 and 233 so that the fabric controlled by the shaft 231, the shedding mechanism 226, and the warp controlled by the chain 228 can now be manually driven in reverse direction by turning the crank 235.

When the weaving machine is operating normally, the clutch 213, 216 is engaged and the shaft 234 is in its left position whereby the crank 235 is in a slot 251 in the frame portion 253, preventing rotation of the crank.

In addition to or in place of the parts of the weaving machine which can be disconnected from the main shaft 15 and manually actuated in reverse direction by the device shown in Figure 10, other parts may be connected with the auxiliary shaft 224, for example, means for presenting weft threads to picker shuttles.

What is claimed is:

1. A weaving machine comprising a main drive shaft, mechanisms adapted to be driven by said drive shaft, means for stopping and means for starting rotation of said drive shaft, disconnecting means for disconnecting a part of the mechanisms from said drive shaft which normally drives the mechanisms, control means interposed between said disconnecting means and said drive shaft and adapted to be moved by said disconnecting means into an active position in which they are responsive to a predetermied angular position of said drive shaft and adapted to return to an inactive position after rotation of said drive shaft past said predetermined angular position, said control means being connected with said means for stopping said drive shaft when the latter is in said predetermined angular position and said control means are in the active position.

2. A weaving machine as defined in claim 1 in which said control means include locking means for locking same in inactive position after rotation of said drive shaft past said predetermined angular position.

3. A weaving machine comprising a main drive shaft, means for stopping and means for starting rotation of said main shaft, an auxiliary shaft, a clutch interposed between said main shaft and said auxiliary shaft, manually operable means connected with said clutch for engaging and disengaging said clutch, a control member connected with said means for stopping said main shaft and adapted to be moved into an active and into an inactive position, control means connected with said manually operable means and engaging said control member for controlling the position of said control member, cam means connected with said main shaft for rotation therewith, said cam means being adapted to engage said control member for actuating the latter for stopping said main shaft when said manually operable means and said control means are in the position in which said control member is in the active position and after said main shaft has rotated through a predetermined angle after said main shaft has been started by said means for starting said main shaft.

4. A weaving machine according to claim 3, including abutment means engaged by said control member when said control member is in the inactive position.

5. A weaving machine according to claim 3, including a lay for beating-up the weft threads, means interconnecting said lay and said main shaft for actuating the former by the latter, said cam means being adapted to engage said control member for stopping said main shaft when said lay is in beat-up position.

6. A Weaving machine according to claim 3, including a weft thread changing element, means interconnecting said weft thread changing element and said auxiliary shaft for actuating the former by the latter, locking means connected with said thread changing element and with said main shaft for actuation by the latter, said cam means being adapted to engage said control member for stopping said main shaft when said locking means are in unlocking position.

7. A weaving machine according to claim 6, including a pattern control means interposed in said means interconnecting said weft thread changing element and said auxiliary shaft, and a yielding clutch interposed between said pattern control means and said weft thread changing element for yieldingly disconnecting the former from the latter when said locking means are locked and the position of said weft thread changing element does not conform with a position determined by said pattern control means.

8. In the method of correcting weaving irregularities in a Weaving machine having a main drive shaft, wherein the main drive shaft is stopped and the drive of individual mechanisms is simultaneously disconnected from the main drive shaft for independent actuation of the drive of the individual mechanisms to place the individual mechanisms in a position suitable for correcting a weav ing irregularity, the method including the steps of re rting the main drive shaft after correction of the weaving irregularity, of automatically stopping the main drive shaft after it has rotated through a predetermined angle for checking the machine, of initiating said automatic stopping step simultaneously with the initial stopping of the drive shaft, and of preparing, simultaneously with said automatic stopping step, for continuous rotation of the main drive shaft after it has been started subsequently to the checking of the machine.

9. A weaving machine including a main drive shaft, an additional shaft, drive means for said additional shaft, a clutch interposed between said main drive shaft and said drive means, stop means for stopping rotation of said main drive shaft, and a mechanism connected to said clutch and to said stop means for simultaneously disengaging said clutch and actuating said stop means for stopping rotation of said main drive shaft, said mechanism including auxiliary drive means connectable to said additional shaft for driving the latter upon disengagement of said clutch and actuation of said stop means, said auxiliary drive means including lock means for locking said auxiliary drive means when the latter are disconnected from said additional shaft and when said mechanism is in position for engaging said clutch and releasing said stop means.

10. In a weaving machine having a main drive shaft and a plurality of individual mechanisms operatively connected to said main drive shaft to be driven thereby, an auxiliary shaft, a plurality of individual mechanisms operatively connected to said auxiliary shaft to be driven thereby, disconnectable clutch means interposed between said shafts for affording rotation of said auxiliary shaft independently of said main shaft when the clutch is disengaged for correcting a weaving irregularity, and a device adapted to effect stopping rotation of said main drive shaft and to simultaneously disconnect said clutch means; said device including means for automatically effecting stopping said drive shaft after said drive shaft has been restarted after correction of a weaving irregularity and after the drive shaft has rotated through a predetermined angle, means for rendering effective, upon actuation of said device to effect stopping the drive shaft, said means for automatically effecting stopping of the drive shaft, and means for rendering ineffective said means for automatically effecting stopping of the drive shaft upon automatic stoppage of the drive shaft whereby continuous rotation of the drive shaft is assured after it is started after it was automatically stopped for checking the machine subsequently to restarting the machine after correcting of a weaving irregularity.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,421,539 Clarke June 3, 1947 2,448,811 Krukonis Sept. 7, 1948 2,592,820 Moessinger Apr. 15, 1952 2,639,732 Moessinger May 26, 1953 2,654,397 Darash Oct. 6, 1953 2,726,685 Pfarrwaller Dec. 13, 1955 2,753,894 Lovshin et al- July 10, 1956 

